THE NEW YORl< PUBLIC LIBRARYRARE B001<8 AND MANUSCRIPTS DIVISION

. ACCESSION SI-IEEI'42 M.83, 43 M15, 43 M85, 43 M112,

. 47 M11, 49 M77, 51 M80, 52 M79,Accession # 58 M 87a, 58 M 87b, 58 M 124, Location 21-o-s/7(L), 21~p~1/7(L), 21-q-l/7(L),

63 M48 21-r-l/7(L). 21-s-1/7(L)Title Emily Ford Skeel. Papers

Approximate inclusive dates 1871-1958

Date of receipt Multiple Accessions

Volume on arrival Mu1~ip1e Accessions

Received fran Ern~1y Ford Skeel

Number of boxes (after reboxing)

Condition Good

Restrictions None

Description (SEE ATTACHED Sl-IEETS) .

150 boxes~ 73 AB, 59 RC, 16 FE, 2 oversize boxe/? 'iuslf

Special Formats Gi Photographs ui Maps GAudio Tapes 0 Films 0 GraphicsoArtifacts a Machine-readable recordsoOther (list)

Temporary catalog card added entries (SEE ATTACHED SHEETS)

.Accessioned by¥'" oeL...7

Date 4zm tv? t: / z.f7.•• J

ACCESSION SHEET

Emily Ford Skeel. Papers

Biographical Note,I

Emily Ford Skeel (nee Emily Ellsworth Ford) was born in ,Brooklyn in

1867, the youngest of the seven children of Gordon Lester Ford (1823-1891)

and Emily Fowler Ford (1826-1893), and the great-granddaughter of Noah

Webster (1758-1843). Her father was a railroad and a real-estate magnate,

a lawyer and a collector of Americana. His library was one of the most

comprehensive of lUs day ~ Her mother wrote poetry, much of which she

published; a two-volume work, Notes on the Life of Noah Webster (1912),

edited by Skeel, was posthumously published. Skeel did not go to college,

however she travelled and made use of her father's library. In 1891 she

married Roswell Skeel,Jr. (1866-1922) and moved to Irvington, New York.

They had no children. Like her older brothers;Paul Leicester Ford (1865­

1902) ahd Worthington Chauncey Ford (1858-1941) Skeel did work in histor-

ical research. She published 1928-1929 a three-volume work, Mason Locke

Weems, His Works and Ways. The first volume"is a bib1i.Qgraphy of Parson

Weems (1759-1825) left unfinished by Paul Leicester Ford at the time of

his death, and the other volumes are Weems letters, 1784-1825, edited by

Skeel. For more than 25 years Skeel worked on a definitive bibliography

of Noah Webster which she did not complete: due to illness and old age.

This work was edited by Edwin H. Carpenter,Jr."who followed Skeel's guide­

lines, and was published by the New York Public Library as A Bibliography of

the Writings of Noah Webster(1958). Both Emily Skeel and her husband

contributed time and money to various organizations and causes. Roswell

Skee1,Jr. worked as a volunteer for the Prison Association of New York,

assisting the families of convicts. He worked f6n other offices and

associations, generally in order to improve the education and' health

care of young people. Emily Skeel gave money to several societies and

(2)

-organizations, most concerned with social reform or environmental con-

servation, and to educational institutions. She supported the Single

Tax measures of Henry George, and contributed to societies committed to

his ideas. After the death of her husband, Skeel moved to Martha's

Vineyard, Massachusetts; one of her residences was a restoration of Ann

Dunham's house (And'hunam). She also lived in New York City, Arizona

and California. After several years of illness, Skeel died,in 1958.

Towards the end of her life her one time secretary and close friend

Helen Mouat had power of attorney.

(3)

Series Description

The Emily Ford Skeel Papers are divided into the following series:

General Correspondence, Personal and Family Ee~resporidence, Financial and House­

hold Correspondence, Bibliographic Notes, Minor Series, Scrapbooks, Photo-

graph Albums, Photographs, and Printed Matter. The organization of this

collection as received was one of several filing systems inconsistent

with each other. Although the collection has been further organized,

Skeel's original order has been retained as much as possible. Overlap

of certain types of material remains both within and between the series.

General Correspondence (1871-1958) includes letters concerned with

Skeel's bibliographic and editorial work. These letters include corr­

espondence with various librarians and academics as well as with Skeel's

own staff. Some letters are between mutual friends of Skeel and Worth­

ington Chauncey Ford. Many letters concerned with her work on Weems, al­

though originally separate, have been interfiled. These include letters

c.1929 from people acknowledging receipt of Weems volumes. Skeel corres­

ponded with F. Carrington Weems, grandson of Mason Locke Weems. Corres­

pondence with four libraries, one society, and Henry Warfel is arranged

alphabetically towards the end of the series. Other letters are between

Skeel and her bibliographic staff, including Hester Meigs (aka Souris),

Gertrude Grimwood (aka G~), and Rosalie Bailey, Skeel's niece. Most of

these letters pertain to Skeel's Webster research. Some letters are

written by Helen Mouat for Skeel. General Correspondence also includes

letters concerned with what Skeel called her contributions and with the

volunteer work of the Skeels. The bulk of this correspondence dates from

the 1930's and early 1940's; some of the earlier correspondence is re­

lative to Roswell Skeel,Jr. and his work. Several boxes of Single Tax

(4)

correspondence incorporate some letters re contributions. The General

Correspondence ends with letters re philanthropic donations filed by

Skeel. The series is chronologically arranged with alphabetical sub­

groupings. Related letters filed together over a period of two or more

years are usually filed by the last date if the correspondence is cumu­

lative, otherwise by the first significant date. The correspondence is

mostly incoming but includes copies of outgoing correspondence.

Personal and Family Correspondence (1871-1950) contains correspon-

dence with family members, relatives, personal friends, and other corre­

spondence which is personal in nature. Some of the letters were written

to both Skeel and her companion, Helen Mouat. Letters over a period of

years are addressed to Marraine ( ? ) from Charlotte (Niven?). Other

friends represented in the collection include Alice Boughton, Alice Dyke,

Charlotte Schetter, and Katherine Day. Early letters in the series include

some with friends of the Ford family such as members of the Estes and Con­

way families. There are personal letters from academics such as James

Truslow Adams and Clarence S. Brigham, who also figure in the General

Correspondence. Skeel corresponded frequently with everyone in her

immediate family except for her brother Malcolm Webster Ford (1862-1902);

notable is longterm correspondence with her brother Worthington. Other fami­

ly letters inelude those.between Skeel and Grace Kidder, widow of Paul

Leicester Ford, and Lesta Ford, his daughter. The series also contains

letters from Skeel family members, including Annie Skeel Burnap, cousin

of Roswell Skeel,Jr., and Almet and Rufus Skeel, his uncles. Letters

between Skeel family members, not including Roswell and Emily Skeel,

are separately filed. The series ends with letters re the education

and finances of Malcolm Webster Ford,Jr., nephew of Skeel.

(5)

Financial and Household Correspondence (1913-1946) divides into

three parts. The first is financial correspondence with banks and stock­

brokers. The next consists of general business letters, some of which

pertain to Skeel's donations and others to household matters. Among the

household letters is correspondence with booksellers. The final part

of the series is correspondence from the period which Skeel spent in

Martha's Vineyard.

Bibliographic Notes consist of material which Skeel gathered for

her work on Webster. The series includes the notes organized by Edwin

H. Carpenter ,Jr. along with various unsorted notes and index cards.

Because Skeel's manuscript was edited in order to publish a single vol­

ume work, the original has been retained in the collection. Some or all

of the material marked'Journalism"is analogous to the section entitled

'periodicals'~n the published book. Letters written while the work was

in progress are both scattered throughout the series and concentrated

in boxes marked"correspondence~. The various notes consist of both un­

sorted bibliographic notes and relevant material gathered from other

parts of the collection. Apparently all of the index cards were used

in Webster research.

Minor Series are Weems Notes, Notes and Memoranda, Writings, Stu­

dent Notebooks, Personal and Family Papers, Skeel Family Papers, Gene­

alogical Papers, Commonplace Books, Accounts and Account Books, and Maps.

Weems Notes incorporate additions to the bibliography, editorial commen­

tary, a few letters attached to notes, and an article about Weems by Waldo

G. Leland. Notes and Memoranda consist of short communications along

with other written ephemera, printed invitations and calling cards, and

a few scholarly notes which are not part of a cohesive whole. Writings

(6)

include printed works and manuscript drafts of Emily Skeel,Roswell

Skeel,Jr., and members of the Ford family. A draft of Paul Leicester

Ford's introduction to the Weems bibliography, a printed copy and part

of the manuscript of Emily Fowler Ford's biographical work on Webster,

and a draft by Roswell Skeel ,Jr. re technical education are included.

Among works by Emily Skeel are various addresses and a printed article

"Through the Chineses Provinces". Student Notebooks con~ist chiefly of

Skeel's French exercise books. Personal and Family Papers contain juve-

nilia, personal documents, short poems, and biographical sketches. Also

included is an autograph album signed by friends and acquaintances, and

typescripts of Webster family letters. Skeel family letters contain

juvenilia of Roswell Skeel,Jr. and documents which pre-date his marriage,

letters of Skeel relatives, and deeds re property of the Skeel family

in Colorado. Other property deeds, mortgages, and contracts of Roswell

and Emily Skeel are filed here. Genealogical Papers contain family trees,

essays, and correspondence re te Ford-Fowler-Webster and Skeel-Reed-Burnap

families. There are two notebooks (1882) of the genealogy of the descend­

ants of William Greenleaf, copied by Emily Fowler Ford. Commonplace

Books are those of Skeel, Annie Skeel Burnap, and Alice Dyke. The

Account Books are three ledgers (c.1903-l917)- of Roswell Skeel,Jr. and

two cash books (c.1904-l9l7) which Emily Skeel kept as guardian for her ne-

phew, Malcolm Webster Ford,Jr. The Accounts are a few further papers

re Skeel's ward along with documents re the Estate of Gordon Lester

Ford. Maps, both blueprints and amateur drawings, are of property in

Colorado and New York City.

Scrapbooks contain two items of Annie Skeel Burnap which consists

of newpaper articles from the first quarter of the twentieth century.

(7)

Two scrapbooks represent the work of Roswell Skeel ,Jr. , while involved

·with th~l~ew York. State..'Education ~Depar.tri1ent,., The first is concerned

with trade schools in New York City; a published p~mphlet contains his

conclusions. The second is concerned with apprenticeship procedures

in the Hudson Valley; here a typed article is included. Another scrap­

book of Roswell Skeel,Jr., is a personal collection of ephemera. Finally,

two scrapbooks, compiled by either Roswell or Emily Skeel, ·document Italian

art and architecture.

The earliest item of the series Photograph Albums consists of dog

and boat pictures compiled by a young Emily Ford (Skeel). Another album

contains photographs of the Ford family and friends. A later album of

Roswell Skeel,Jr. consists of photographs from the Skeel ranch in Colo-

rado.

Among the numerous ~hotographs are several of Roswell and Emily

Skeel, and others of Worthington Chauncey, Paul Leicester, Gordon Lester,

and Emily Fowler Ford. Group photographs include one of members of the

Ford family at home with Skeel visitors. There are photographs of por­

traits of Emily Skeel's sisters Katherine Gordon, Rosalie Greenleaf, and

Mabel Percy Ford. Six tintypes are of Annie Skeel Burnap and ner.. brother.I

George S. Burnap. There are glass negatives of the Fords Clark Street

residence in Brooklyn, many cyanotypes, and a collection of prints

and two original photographs of prominent people. This series includes

many other photographs of various subjects.

The Printed Matter consists of clippings, pamphlets, a few facsim-

iles and prints, .and ephemera. The series begins with a subject refer­

ence file, a group of correspondence and notes filed together with printed

matter by Skeel. The categories of this file reflect Skeel's interests

(8)

and the content of the rest of the printed matter. Material re Webster

and Weems has been grouped together, as have documents of direct concern

to the Ford and Skeel families. Noteworthy are clippings collected

by Skeel recounting the event of Paul Leicester Ford's murder and

Malcolm Webster Ford's suicide.

Included also are a cash journal (1910-17) and a ledger (1900-15) of Roswell

Skeel, Jr.

EMILY FORD SKEEL PAPERS

CONTAINER LIST

Box Contents

General Correspondence

1 1871-1913

2 1914-1915; 1915 (A-W)

3 c.1907-1915

4 1916-1920; 1918-1920 (A-W)

5 1920-1925

6 1926-1928

7 1928-1929

8 c.1928-1934

9 1930-1931

10 1931-1933

11-14 c.1932-1942 (A-W)

15 1933-1934

16 1934 (A-W)

17 1934 (A-W); 1935

18 1935 (A-W)

19 1935-1936

20 1937

21 1937-1938

22 1938-1939

23 1939-1940

24 1940-1942

25 1942; c.1942-1944

26 1943-1945

27 1945-1950

28 1950-1958

CONTAINER LIST (cont'd)

Box Contents

1900-1958

" "Henry Geor~e Letters

Correspondence re Philanthropic Donations

Correspondence with the American Antiquarian Soci­ety, Harvard College Library, Library of CongressCorrespondence with the Library of Congress, NewYork Public Library, Rutgers University Library,and with Henry WarfelCorrespondence re Sing~e Tax and Contributions

"

"

"

"

n.d.

" "

c.1935-1942

1924-1933

1933-1938

1938-1941

1941-1946;c.1885-1897

c.1930-1937

29

30

31

32

33

34

35

36

37-38

Personal and Family Correspondence

39

40

41

42

43­

44

45

46-47

48-49

18hl-19l3

1913-1920

1921-1931

1930-1935

1935-1938

1939-1945

1945-1950; n.d.

n.d.

c.1909-l928 Correspondence re Malco1m Webster Ford

Financial and Household Correspondence

50 1919-1927 Correspondence with B8nkers' Trust Co., Calahan& Stanley

51 1929-1943 " " Hankers' Trust Co.

52 1924-1942 " " Calahan &Stanley, Bailey&Mueller

53 1925-1945 " " Dupont, Ptlillips & Zoller,,Phillips, Swann, &Co.

54 1919-1944 ; " " Richard's Realty, Rutters & Co.1913-1924 General Business Correspondence

Box

CONTAINER LIST (cant 'd)

Contents

1923-1928; c.1929-1933 Seven Gates Farm - Ebbtides

General Business Correspondence55

56

57

58

59

60

61

1924-1930

1930-1935

1935-1944

1944-1946; n.d.

1930-1934

1932-1941·

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

"

Seven Gates Farm - And'hunam'

" "62

63

1939-1946; n.d.;'..1929-1932

1930-1937 tI " "

64-65

66

67

68

69

70

71

72

73

74

75-77

78

79

80

81-83-

Bibliographic-Notes

American Spelling Book

American.~'Spelling __~ook;'_.Elernentary Spelling Book

Elementary Spelling Book; Grammars, etc.

Grarrmars, etc.

Grammars; Dictionaries etc.

Dictionaries etc.

Educational Works, etc.

Political Works etc.

Readers etc.; Periodicals (Journalism)

Periodicals (Journalism)

Appendixes and Indexes

Appendixes cont'd; Correspondence

Correspondence

Correspondence-Letters of Others, Diaries

Misc. and Working Papers

Box

84

85

86-87

88-92

93-96

97-104

105-106

107-109

110-111

112

113-115

116-118

119-120

121

122

123

CO~NER LIST (cont'd)

Contents

Bjbliographjc Notes - 'C

Newspapers Consulted

Journalism

"J 1- " ( · )ourna 1sm ccc SlC

"Journalism Discards"

Various Notes

Index Cards

Minor Series

Weems r~otes

Notes and Memoranda

Writings

Writings; Student Notebooks

Personal and Family Papers

Skeel Family Papers

Geneological Papers

Commonplace Books

Accounts arid AcC:.ount B'ooks

Accounts and Account Books; Maps.

Italian Art and Architecture

124

125

126

127

128

129

130

131

Scrapbooks .

Annie Skeel Burnap

" "

Technical Education

" "

Roswell Skeel Jr.

PhotOgraph Albums

Roswell Skeel Jr.

Emily Skeel

c.1885-1898

c.1901-l9l8

1908-1909

1909

1896

1889; nd

c.1901

1886; 1890

Box

132-134

135

136

137

138

139

140

141

142-143

144-146

147-150

151-152

153

154

155

,CONTAINER LIST (cont'd)

Contents

Photographs

Ford and Skeel Fmnilies

I-Iousehold; Travel

HOUS~101d; Unidentified People

Prominent People

Glass N'egatives

Printed Matter

Subject Reference File

Webster; Weems; Family ItenlS; Clippings re Deathof Paul and Malcolm

Clippings re Death of Paul and Malcolm

Various Clippings

Re Gardening

Parrlphlets, Epllemera, etc.

Printed Material

Miscellaneous Accounts

cash journal (1910-17) of Roswell Skeel, Jr.

Ledger (1900-15) of Roswell Skeel, Jr.